ATLANTA – Brett Ross, formerly an assistant coach at Wake Forest, has been named the head coach of the Georgia State men’s tennis program, Director of Athletics Cheryl Levick announced Tuesday.

An Atlanta native, Ross demonstrated strong coaching and recruiting skills in his five-year stint at Wake Forest, helping the Demon Deacons to four NCAA team tournament berths, including top-30 national rankings the last two years.

In 2013, Ross helped lead a stunning turnaround as a Demon Deacon squad that had finished in 10th place in the Atlantic Coast Conference the previous year improved to third place in one of the nation’s toughest conferences and earned a final No. 19 ranking by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Wake Forest followed that success with another NCAA appearance in 2014, including a first-round victory in the NCAA regional, and a No. 30 ranking.

Among the top players Ross helped recruit and coach at Wake Forest were Steven Forman, the program’s first three-time All-American and an NCAA quarterfinalist in doubles with partner Iain Atkinson; Adam Lee, who set the school record with 38 singles victories in 2013; and Romain Bogaerts, who earned a top-30 individual ranking and an NCAA singles berth in 2014.

“Brett is a talented young coach with a great deal of experience, both coaching and playing at the highest levels,” Levick said. “He has a tremendous knowledge of tennis in the Atlanta area, is enthusiastic about being at Georgia State, and will help build on the recent success of the men’s tennis program.”

In the summer of 2013, Ross was selected as one of two coaches for the 2013 USTA Collegiate Team, an elite training program for the nation’s top collegians. In this role, Ross worked with six top college players who competed in USTA Pro Circuit events around the nation.

Ross was originally hired at Wake Forest, his alma mater, in 2009 and worked under head coaches Jeff Zin (2009-11) and Tony Bresky (2011-present).

“I can't say how excited I am to get started here at Georgia State,” Ross said. “The chance to build a high-level program in my hometown at an up-and-coming university like Georgia State is a dream come true. I would like to thank Cheryl Levick and [Executive Senior Associate AD] Jamie Boggs for this tremendous opportunity.

“The Georgia State athletic program as a whole is very ambitious and definitely something I want to be a part of. I’m looking forward to building a program that the University and the city of Atlanta will be proud of. I feel that the connection with the great tennis community in Atlanta will be vital to our success.

“There is no reason why we can't compete with the top programs regionally and nationally,” Ross continued. “The draw of a thriving international city, the academic reputation of this university and our proximity to many high-level professional tennis tournaments will go a long way in attracting very talented players to Georgia State.”

Ross was a standout player at Wake Forest, where he lettered from 2003-06 and ranked among the school’s top 10 in singles and doubles victories for both a season and career.

After graduation, he played on the ITF Pro Circuit. He qualified for several Challenger events and cracked the top 500 in the doubles rankings and top 600 in singles.

Ross, who attended Centennial High School in the Atlanta suburb of Roswell, began his coaching career at the Tennis Academy of the South in Atlanta, working with high-level juniors.